Milan: The Mirror Spain Refuses to Look Into

Milan: The Mirror Spain Refuses to Look Into

A citizen's daughter returns from Milan and delivers the phrase many hear with skepticism: "You have no idea what an invasion is." She tells it bluntly: 80% foreign population in the center, street vendors with no police control, a metro that looks like the Tower of Babel. The account hits hard because it comes from someone young, with a scholarship, who has traveled half the country. But the underlying debate is not whether Milan is worse than Madrid, but whether Spain is repeating the Italian script, just ten years behind.

A current of analysis maintains that the real deterrent was Spain's minimum wage, which for years was below 900 euros. That, they say, discouraged the massive arrival of immigrant workers because black-market wages were even lower. With the minimum wage rising to 1,134 euros in 2024, the gap narrows and the appeal for immigration grows. The reasoning is simple: the higher the regulated wage, the less need for exploitation, but also more incentives for those seeking a better life to focus on Spain.

Demographics of Milan versus Madrid: What the Numbers Say

Data from the municipality of Milan speak of 1,370,242 inhabitants in 2026, of whom approximately 20% are foreigners according to official statistics. However, those who travel to the tourist center or the central station describe a much higher concentration, especially of street vendors and crowds on public transport. The contrast with the periphery is marked: in neighborhoods like Porta Garibaldi or residential areas, the foreign presence is much lower. Street perception, therefore, is not homogeneous. In Spain, cities like Madrid or Barcelona have similar percentages of foreigners (around 20% according to the INE), but the territorial distribution is also uneven. The argument that "in Italy it's worse" relies more on isolated experiences than on municipal averages.

The Economic Factor: Minimum Wage, Regularization, and Pull Effect

The economic debate focuses on the 900,000 extraordinary regularization applications processed in Spain in 2025. They coincide with the rise in the minimum wage and the creation of the Minimum Vital Income (IMV). The logic is perverse: by formalizing submerged jobs and guaranteeing benefits, migratory appeal increases. Those who defend this policy argue that labor abuses are reduced; critics point out that it generates a pull effect that will saturate public services. Italy, with Meloni in government since 2022, also launched a regularization in 2023, but the result has been an increase in irregular presence on the streets of Milan, according to multiple testimonies. The right promised a heavy hand, but the reality is that immigration remains a thorny issue and the numbers are not falling.

What's Next? The Long-Term Trend

Those who have traveled to Italy in recent years agree that the deterioration is gradual but constant. A witness who returned to Spain after five years says he noticed the change as "astonishing": more immigrant population, more street commerce, more social tension. Another who was in Milan two years ago assures that the train station was "a Dante-esque spectacle" at nightfall. The key is not to compare who has it worse, but to understand that Spain is on the same path, just with a certain delay. If Europe does not activate coordinated and realistic migration policies, cities will continue to transform without planning. Meanwhile, the average voter alternates between indignation and resignation.

The analysis closes with a reflection: given the evolution of the last decade, it is likely that Spain will reach levels of migratory concentration similar to those of Milan in the coming years, unless the labor market contracts drastically or control policies truly harden. Neither scenario seems imminent.